Luton Town Relocation Plans

[Kenneth E End]

Got to feel sorry for you guys really - all these other teams seem to build a new stand or ground without much of a fuss but you've had issues for decades!

61 years and counting!

 

[Kenneth E End]

Isn't that comment basically just the people responsible for drafting the local plan anyway? They are just a consultee, not the ones who will give or deny planning permission. Gary Sweet didn't seem overly concerned about it yesterday so fingers crossed.

I tend to agree with what you're saying, but the letter came from the Strategic Planning Committee, so it can't be ignored. It must carry significant weight in the planning process. And it also gives politicians and excuse should they need to make an unpopular decision.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Some further developments on this. Yesterday "The Mall" shopping centre unveiled, to be quite frank, some embarrassing plans for the regeneration of the town centre & Power Court as a rival to the plans of the club, arguing that it fits better with the local plan.

I say embarrassing because they don't appear to have any plan to fund any of this, essentially lifted word for word a lot of the plans detailed in our application (minus the football stadium at Power Court of course) and the real kicker, detailed that their plan would be over the course of 20 years. Quite frankly ludicrous for a town that has been in desperate need of regeneration for years.

A real poor show from the owners of the mall IMO who have had ample opportunity in the preceding years to develop the town and have squandered it. I really hope this proposal is viewed with the disdain it deserves.

Meanwhile we have announced that we are very close to the completion of the purchase of the Power Court site from British Land.

 

[Bosox]

Meanwhile we have announced that we are very close to the completion of the purchase of the Power Court site from British Land.

And now completed...

https://twitter.com/LutonTown

Luton Town FC @Luton Town

BREAKING NEWS: Hatters property arm, 2020 Developments (Luton) Ltd, acquires Power Court from British Land http://*/2hciZEF #COYH

https://twitter.com/LutonTown/status/806156981887238144

 

[Kenneth E End]

Bravo Luton Town. Supposedly a meeting going on today and tomorrow, as well as early next year, will result in a change to the local plan.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Wonder how much the land has set us back? Great location although so much work has to be done to get it into a buildable state we might have got a knock down price (relatively speaking - it'll still be millions of course). No-one else has shown any real interest in buying it for some time now I don't think.

 

[oakroader]

knowing our luck the contractor will dig up ...
an unexploded world war 2 bomb
the remains of Noah and his ark
the bones of a never before found dinosaur
and an ancient burial ground hiding hitler,lord Lucan and shergar......

 

[Hatter86]

Absolutely amazing news. Newlands Park land bought, Power Court secured. The Mall desperately scrambling to throw a spanner in the works and producing a laughable plan. All the signs are good. I don't want to tempt fate, but I reckon it's in the bag. Don't get me wrong, it won't be plain sailing and they'll likely be elements of both developments that are changed and different from the original plans, but surely, SURELY it has to happen?!

 

[Kenneth E End]

Wonder how much the land has set us back? Great location although so much work has to be done to get it into a buildable state we might have got a knock down price (relatively speaking - it'll still be millions of course). No-one else has shown any real interest in buying it for some time now I don't think.

I'm going to estimate:
£10m for Newlands Park land (this was confirmed by LTFC)
£10m for Power Court land
£40m for Stadium
£5m for ancillaries around the stadium (shops, homes, amenities etc)
£5m for Power Court decontimination, land clearance and landscaping
£75m for Newlands Park developments
£5m for consultants

Undoubtedly, the most ambitious stadium project in the lower leagues.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Anyone been listening in to the stream of the meeting today? General tone on Outlaws makes it sound like we are about to get fucked over yet again :-(

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Think this was the meeting of the local planners taking place today which as i understand it, is just purely about whether they want to change their local plan.

Haven't been able to get on the live stream but seems to be that they are happy to amend the local plan to state that Power Court is now preferred site for the Stadium, but the retail at Newlands Park is a problem for them and they dont seem particularly keen on that change. I am not sure of the hoops they have jumped through to reach that conclusion as one cant happen without the other, so surely to accept the stadium at Power Court you need to recognise that retail will not be the main purpose of the site and therefore it would need to logically go to Newlands but that seems to be the theme of discussion today.

I understand the need for a Local Plan but their does seem to be a real disconnect between what the plan and the planners think and the situation on the ground as it were. It was personally news to me that there was a "plan" of any kind given some of the frankly appalling development, or lack thereof in the case of the town centre itself, that has happened in Luton.

 

[Bosox]

General tone on Outlaws makes it sound like we are about to get fucked over yet again :-(

I don't think I'd go to Outlaws for expertise on Local Government and planning issues (actually I don't think I'd go there for expertise on anything outside perhaps of UKIP/EDL manifestos) so I'll wait for more credible reports before being concerned.

 

[Kenneth E End]

I listened to about an hour earlier this afternoon - it was an excruciatingly frustrating listen, as Capital & Regional (the owners of the Mall shopping centre) blatantly tried every trick in the book to try and slow this process down and throw a mechanic's set of spanners in the works. For instance, they tried to claim that the land at J10 was a bequest by the previous owner which is flagrantly untrue. They also tried to claim that the land at PC wasn't paid for under the going rate. However, their lawyers were concise and smart.

Luton Borough Council, who's representation I felt was extremely poor, under prepared and almost like a rabbit in headlights, stated that they supported Luton's relocation to Power Court, so the Local Plan being changed in this aspect seems likely. However, they also stated that they do NOT support the retail element of the project at Newlands Park. So, without that, the project fails. I'm not quite sure many within LBC are quite grasping this fact quite yet.

The club have been diplomatic in their approach to this project. Where there have been media headlines and concerns, they've always reacted in a measured manner. Perhaps time to up the ante?

 

[Kenneth E End]

So, it's been nearly 2 months since the last post on this thread and I've been watching from afar since then.

Sounds like there are some dark forces at work in the background from the owners of the Mall (Capital & Regional). They seem to be in it for the long haul and looking at every trick in the book to slow the process down. A decision should've been made around the turn of the year, if not before, and now there isn't going to be anything until the end of the month. Just get on with it! Its been noticeable reading programme notes in the last few weeks, that the club is mobilising themselves for a battle.

I still don't understand their vehement opposition. Yes, I know its based on competition, but in reality, how much competition is there going to be? Luton is a growing town; population going through the roof and the cost of living growing rapidly in comparison to other locations. Disposable income is growing and there is a consensus that the need for retail is stronger, especially against local rivals.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

It's annoying how much sway The Mall seem to have over things, in particular the Planning Inspector who is in charge of this "local plan".

The general consensus amongst the actual council people who have made comment on it seems very supportive but the local planners seem very reticent to change their precious plan, which is crucial for the council to be able to approve as far as my understanding goes.

I've said it before but the planners seem totally disconnected from the situation on the ground in the town at the moment which I find concerning not just for the new stadium but the town itself. The lack of understanding of such things I would suggest is a big reason why the town is in such a poor state.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Can someone with a better understanding of local politics/planning regulations than I do, explain to me why the need for a firm "local plan"? The plan is only in its current form, because it was submitted literally weeks before Luton put their application in. And the council refused to extend it. The council don't own the land; I can't see how they can force one particular group to use the land for one particular land use of their choosing?

The council have also been using Power Court and Newlands Park in their "Think Luton" marketing material. They'll look pretty stupid if it doesn't go through.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

I understand the point of a local plan to stop, or at least attempt to stop haphazard development with no clear strategy of improving the town behind it. But in this case the alternative is what exactly? Leave waste land, slap bang in the middle of town to further rot away?

This is exactly what I mean when I say they are out of touch. If this doesn't happen then what does? No one wants to develop on it due the difficulty in doing so, so essentially they are saying keeping it as is, which is an eyesore and a disgrace to the town, is better than having a stadium, music venue, new housing and bars etc.

The development also forces The Mall to finally up their game also. I just don't understand what needs to be debated here.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Luton Town's plans for a new stadium at Power Court and mixed-use development at Newlands Park were hailed at a prestigious global architectural awards ceremony on Wednesday night in Cannes. The stadium won the award in its category, beating the new Perth stadium amongst others, whilst Newlands Park was highly commended.

Yet we're still waiting for someone to make a decision and the Planning Inspector is still yet to be convinced either way that the stadium location is suitable or not. Get on with it!

 

[Hatter86]

Potentially big news. The land that was pencilled in by the council as the site for the ground (which we have no interest in) has been reassigned in the local plan for a leisure and commercial complex. This sounds very much like new Newlands Park development that we planned to build there and suggests they are now looking to put the ground elsewhere....

http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/bu...atters-rejection-of-stadium-near-m1-1-7910427

 

[Kenneth E End]

At least there is some progress on this.

 

[Kenneth E End]

So, last game of the regular season today and still no word, when statutory they should've made a decision around last Christmas. These bureaucrats really need to get on with it.

The club relocated to their new training ground this week. In the coaches words, 'the best outside the Championship.' Interesting to see what difference it makes on the pitch?

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

The pictures of the training ground look really good actually, hopefully we will be able to attract some better players over the summer because of it, can imagine some were more than a little put off by the facilities at Ely Way which seemed to be a couple of make shift cabins and a bobbly pitch!

 

[oakroader]

If I drove a Ferrari every day it wouldn't make me Sebastian vetal ....

 

[Kenneth E End]

The pictures of the training ground look really good actually, hopefully we will be able to attract some better players over the summer because of it, can imagine some were more than a little put off by the facilities at Ely Way which seemed to be a couple of make shift cabins and a bobbly pitch!

And had a history of break ins...

 

[Maple Hatter]

A very good response from our supporter groups to the recent objections voiced on local radio. An objection with no foundation purely made to delay our plans in the hope we'll give up. I think they might have underestimated our ability to fight back.

http://www.lutontownsupporterstrust...s-come-together-to-question-capital-regional/

 

[Son of Cod]

Have those plans by And been 100% confirmed as going ahead? It does look like a decent stadium, but it will be sad to lose Kennilworth Road. Definitely hope I get there again. However, at least this probably won't be a terrible flat pack jobby.

 

[genesimmons]

A very good response from our supporter groups to the recent objections voiced on local radio. An objection with no foundation purely made to delay our plans in the hope we'll give up. I think they might have underestimated our ability to fight back.

http://www.lutontownsupporterstrust...s-come-together-to-question-capital-regional/

Luton seem to have been fighting for years with local opposition. Are this company bosses on drugs! The area behind the mall is awful and attracts undesireables worse than football fans. Imagine if luton got new ground, attendances would double and im sure alot of those fans would pop in mall before of after games. The tescos and marks and spencers would shift a few sandwhichs for sure. He should see how busy newcastle is on matchdays where local firms embrace footie fans even mcdonalds have offers on for st holders

 

[Kenneth E End]

Have those plans by And been 100% confirmed as going ahead? It does look like a decent stadium, but it will be sad to lose Kennilworth Road. Definitely hope I get there again. However, at least this probably won't be a terrible flat pack jobby.

No it hasn't! It's been nearly a year since the application went in. And the latest projection is that it won't be made until the start of the season.

Pull your finger out and mane a bloody decision!

 

[SMH]

I'm not wholly clued up on Luton's new ground and training ground but that's impressive if they've actually bought and moved into the entire Vauxhall Rec. I used to play 5 a side there and it's a big facility. Must have cost a decent wedge for them to buy and do up the entire place, unless it's still open to the public. It would also be very close to the new stadium if it was based in Power Court, unlike Ely Way which was not only a way away from the town centre but was a proper dump.

 

[Kenneth E End]

I'm not wholly clued up on Luton's new ground and training ground but that's impressive if they've actually bought and moved into the entire Vauxhall Rec. I used to play 5 a side there and it's a big facility. Must have cost a decent wedge for them to buy and do up the entire place, unless it's still open to the public. It would also be very close to the new stadium if it was based in Power Court, unlike Ely Way which was not only a way away from the town centre but was a proper dump.

I believe they're leasing parts of it, however they've completely overhauled an area to the back of the facility for their own use. I think it was still a 7-figure investment.

Listening to pre match interviews there, it's obvious as to why it's a bad place for a stadium! Every 2 minutes a plane goes over.